Buying An American Computer From The UK!!??

First of all, please feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum, but this was the best forum to post this in!!

Anyway, I have a British desktop computer, but also on a trip to the USA last year I brought a ASUS laptop from Best Buy which I also use here.

The thing is, my British desktop computer has been constantly hacked into, of which I am spending a small fortune in tech fees to get it put right as I constantly get viruses and malware removed even though its protected up to the hilt with anti-virus and adware/malware programmes of which I run constantly and the last straw now is over this past weekend I have had some ransomware attack my computer(apparently its the new thing now with hackers, you have to pay these assholes in order to get your computer system back up and running), of which I am now YET AGAIN going to have to spend a small fortune to get rid off!! Ransomware comes in the form of fake " warnings" from various UK Police Departments(in my case the Cheshire Police Dept and I live nowhere near that county). Also they note your IP Address number and your location, both of which are false as I know my IP Address number and I am nowhere near the location they say I am from!! Also, it comes up with a fake Interpol page!!

The thing is, I have never had anything like this happen at all on my US laptop and the reason being is, according to an IT consultant friend of mine on Facebook, that my US laptop has US specs in the registry, which are not so easily detected over here as my British desktop has, hence all the hacking!!

My question is, I am looking into buying a US computer from the US and having it shipped over and I am looking on Amazon at possibilities(The price and the shipping will be worth paying out for to avoid all the time and money spent in future tech fees). The question is, even if I just buy the main computer block without the monitor, mouse and keyboard and other accessories, will my original monitor, mouse and keyboard fit the US computer block??

Thanks!!!

The question is, even if I just buy the main computer block without the monitor, mouse and keyboard and other accessories, will my original monitor, mouse and keyboard fit the US computer block??

It's very likely that your monitor, mouse, and keyboard will work just fine.  Most keyboards and mice are USB connections, which are the same in the US and UK (and the rest of the world). 

Your monitor could have one or more of a few different types of connections, depending on how old it is.  If you want to know for sure, check what type of connection the monitor has, and make sure whatever computer you buy has the same type.

Will it be financially worthwhile to import a computer from the US once you have paid vat at 20%?

The thing about US computers being somehow superior is a load of rubbish.

It sounds, to me, like the company who are charging you a fortune to put your PC right, aren't doing a very good job.

It's a waste of money importing a PC from the USA for extra protection from malware as this won't make any difference.

My advice would be to take it to a different computer shop and ask for them to do a clean install of your Operating System and to ensure you have anti virus installed. 

Whereabouts are you based?

I haven't owned a desktop in about 10 years.  But I have both a US and a UK laptop and there is 100% no difference in them protection wise...  I definitely think you are being told a bunch of balogna as well.  A good clean of your current system and a reliable antivirus software product should be all you need for a fresh start.

If you want a Mac, you will probably save money on buying it in the US on your next trip home or having a family member bring it for you on their next visit... but as far as computers being different in the UK and US... I don't agree.

The thing about US computers being somehow superior is a load of rubbish.

It sounds, to me, like the company who are charging you a fortune to put your PC right, aren't doing a very good job.

It's a waste of money importing a PC from the USA for extra protection from malware as this won't make any difference.

My advice would be to take it to a different computer shop and ask for them to do a clean install of your Operating System and to ensure you have anti virus installed. 

Whereabouts are you based?

I am based in the UK!! Bournemouth, Dorset to be exact!!

Just thought I'd weigh in.

Hubby and I are both self-employed. Including DS's equipment, we have:

1. Two desktops
2. Two laptops
3. One netbook
4. Two tablets

Of these, the netbook, one laptop and one tablet are USA. The rest are UK.

ALL were bought within the last 3 years.  No differences in terms of protection that I have seen.  Hubby has run a home based business for 10 years without an IT person or anything other than solid protection software.

When there is a constant virus problem, it is less about the computer and more about the user. Do you use the desktop more than the laptop? Think about how you use it (do you download a lot of stuff? click on ads? go to sketchy streaming sites for US TV shows? just because you have a lot of anti-virus stuff doesn't mean it's good anti-virus stuff, have you read reviews of it?) and you'll get to the root of your problem.

It has nothing to do with where the computer came from. If you're willing to shell out a bunch of money to get a computer shipped from the US, I'd say save yourself the trouble and put that money toward a MAC and your problem will be solved.

When there is a constant virus problem, it is less about the computer and more about the user. Do you use the desktop more than the laptop? Think about how you use it (do you download a lot of stuff? click on ads? go to sketchy streaming sites for US TV shows? just because you have a lot of anti-virus stuff doesn't mean it's good anti-virus stuff, have you read reviews of it?) and you'll get to the root of your problem.

It has nothing to do with where the computer came from. If you're willing to shell out a bunch of money to get a computer shipped from the US, I'd say save yourself the trouble and put that money toward a MAC and your problem will be solved.

Or install something linux based.  I've got ubuntu installed on my old laptop and I don't even bother with virus software.